Emma Josephine Smith (born 15 May 1970) is an English literary scholar and academic whose research focuses on early modern drama, particularly

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, and the history of the book. She has been a Tutorial Fellow in English at

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

since 1997 and Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

since 2015. She has published and lectured widely on Shakespeare and on other early modern dramatists, and worked with numerous theatre companies. Her lectures are available as podcasts ''Not Shakespeare: Elizabethan and Jacobean Popular Theatre'' and ''Approaching Shakespeare''.

Life and career

Born and raised in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, Smith was educated at Abbey Grange school and did her undergraduate degree at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The colle ...

, from 1988 to 1991. In an interview with the ''Oxford Review of Books'', Smith said that she "didn't go to a school or come from a family where people particularly did go to Oxford" but that she also was not "from a terribly deprived background". She was a Prize Fellow at

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

and completed her doctorate in 1997 during her fellowship at the college. Smith has credited the Prize Fellowship as helping her become an academic but said she found the time "isolating" and "felt the miss of having a graduate cohort". She joined Hertford College as Tutorial Fellow in English in 1997, having previously held a junior academic position at

New Hall, Cambridge New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. In November 2015 she was awarded the

Title of Distinction The University of Oxford introduced Titles of Distinction for senior academics in the 1990s. These are not established chairs, which are posts funded by endowment for academics with a distinguished career in British and European universities. Howeve ...

of Professor of Shakespeare Studies by the University of Oxford. As part of her work on Shakespeare's

First Folio ''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...

, Smith worked with conservators, digital specialists and crowd-sourced funding on a

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

project to digitise a copy of the book. In 2016, she authenticated a new copy of the First Folio found at

Mount Stuart House Mount Stuart House, on the east coast of the Isle of Bute, Scotland, is a country house built in the Gothic Revival style and the ancestral home of the Marquesses of Bute. It was designed by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson for the 3rd Marquess in ...

on the

Isle of Bute The Isle of Bute (; or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault. Formerly a constituent island of the larger County of ...

. With Laurie Maguire of Oxford University she published a new argument in 2012 that Shakespeare's play ''

All's Well that Ends Well ''All's Well That Ends Well'' is a play by William Shakespeare, published in the First Folio in 1623, where it is listed among the comedies. There is a debate about the date of its composition, with possible dates ranging from 1598 to 1608. ...

'' was a collaboration with

Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...

. ''The New Oxford Shakespeare'' edition of 2016, edited by Bourus ''et al.'', was the first printed edition of the play to accept this joint attribution. Another article with Laurie Maguire won the 2014 Hoffman Prize. She was a script advisor to

Josie Rourke Josie Rourke is an English theatre and film director. She is a vice-president of the London Library, and was the artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse theatre from 2012 to 2019. In 2018, she made her feature film debut with the Academy Award ...

's 2018 film ''

Mary Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

'' and the BBC’s 2023 documentary series ''Shakespeare: The Rise of a Genius''. She edits the

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

journal ''Shakespeare Survey''. Smith published ''This Is Shakespeare'' in 2019. The book was published as a guide to Shakespeare's plays. It extends from her lectures for Oxford undergraduates, which were also used as the basis for her ''Approaching Shakespeare'' podcast, where she discusses 20 of Shakespeare's plays in chronological order. She says she wanted the book "to give a sense of Shakespeare's range across his career" but also "to keep the individual chapters self-contained, so that you could read one before going to the theatre." ''This is Shakespeare'' was well-received and "catapulted mith'sname into literary renown"; Smith said the response was "exciting and unexpected". She was shortlisted for the 2023

Wolfson History Prize The Wolfson History Prizes are literary awards given annually in the United Kingdom to promote and encourage standards of excellence in the writing of history for the general public. Prizes are given annually for two or three exceptional work ...

for ''Portable Magic'', which she described as "a book about books, rather than words". In 2024 she was made a
Honorary Bencher
at Middle Temple and included i
Ribbons
a public sculpture in Leeds celebrating inspirational women. In September 2024 Smith joined the board of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

, having been named an Associate Scholar of the RSC in 2021. In June 2025, Smith was elected to an honorary fellowship at her alma mater,

Broadcasting

Smith has made numerous appearances as an expert commentator on the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

discussion programme ''

In Our Time In Our Time may refer to: * ''In Our Time'' (1944 film), a film starring Ida Lupino and Paul Henreid * ''In Our Time'' (1982 film), a Taiwanese anthology film featuring director Edward Yang; considered the beginning of the "New Taiwan Cinema" * ''In ...

''. Episodes featuring Smith include:

Marlowe Marlowe may refer to: Name * Marlowe (name), including list of people and characters with the surname or given name * Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593), English dramatist, poet and translator * Pat Marlowe (1933–1962), English socialite * Phili ...

(2005); Shakespeare's Plantagenet histories (2018); ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' (2020);

Shakespeare's sonnets William Shakespeare (1565 –1616) wrote sonnets on a variety of themes. When discussing or referring to Shakespeare's sonnets, it is almost always a reference to the 154 sonnets that were first published all together in a quarto in 1609. Howe ...

(2021); ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' (2022); ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'' (2023); and

(2025). In August 2024 she also appeared on the Radio 4 series ''

Great Lives ''Great Lives'' is a BBC Radio 4 biography series, produced in Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the re ...

'' discussing Marlowe with director

Julien Temple Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll ...

Personal life

Smith lives in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

with her partner Elizabeth.

Bibliography

Selected publications

*''Portable Magic: A History of Books and their Readers'' (Penguin, 2022) *''This Is Shakespeare'' (Pelican, 2019) *''Shakespeare’s First Folio: Four Centuries of an Iconic Book'', (Oxford University Press, 2016) *''The Making of Shakespeare's First Folio'', (Bodleian Publishing, 2015) *''Women on the Early Modern Stage: A Woman Killed with Kindness, The Tamer Tamed, The Duchess of Malfi, The Witch of Edmonton'' (2014) *''The Elizabethan Top Ten: Defining Print Popularity in Early Modern England''. Eds. Andy Kesson and Emma Smith (Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2013) *''Five Revenge Tragedies: The Spanish Tragedy, Hamlet, Antonio's Revenge, The Tragedy of Hoffman, The Revenger's Tragedy'' (Penguin UK, 2012) *''The Cambridge Shakespeare Guide'' (Cambridge University Press, 2012) *''The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare'' (Cambridge University Press, 2007) *''Shakespeare's Comedies: a Guide to Criticism'' (Blackwell Guides to Criticism, 2003) *''Shakespeare's Histories: a Guide to Criticism'' (Blackwell Guides to Criticism, 2003) *''Shakespeare's Tragedies: a Guide to Criticism'' (Blackwell Guides to Criticism, 2003) *''Shakespeare in Production: Henry V'' (2000) *''

Thomas Kyd Thomas Kyd (baptised 6 November 1558; buried 15 August 1594) was an English playwright, the author of ''The Spanish Tragedy'', and one of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama. Although well known in his own time, ...

: The Spanish Tragedie'' (ed. 1998)

References

External links

Bodleian Library's First Folio

Hertford College, Oxford

Oxford University Department for Continuing Education

Literature Compass

Oxford podcasts

Approaching ShakespeareNot Shakespeare: Elizabethan and Jacobean Popular Theatre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Emma 1970 births Academics from Leeds Fellows of Hertford College, Oxford Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Fellows of New Hall, Cambridge Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford Living people Shakespearean scholars English literary historians Historians of English literature Academics of the University of Oxford British women literary historians Historians of theatre Audiobook narrators English academics of English literature English LGBTQ writers British LGBTQ historians LGBTQ women writers